Wale (Wall-Ey) not to be confused with (Wall-Y) is one of the new kids on the block in hip hop. He’s one of the new more swagger filled lyrical wordsmiths in the game. On his new album “Attention Deficit” he uses pop culture references, humor and wordplay to display the thoughts in his mind.
“Triumph” and “Mama Told Me” set the plate for more substantive material like “90210” where he sounds off about bulimia, drug use and other negative aspects of the “Hollywood dream.” Following this, Wale becomes introspective, analyzing color boundaries on “Shades” with lines like “I never fit in with the light skins / I figured that the lighter they was, the better that they life is.” The song proves to be the most personal with more quotable lines. “Man, I hate black / Skin tone, I wish I could take it back / But rearrange my status, maybe if I was khaki / Associating light-skinned with classy / The minstrel show showed a me that was not me.” Later, he uses a haunting instrumental to get into the “diary of a black girl” on “Diary,” offering more depth to the overall quality of the album.
His album is also full of guest appearances; Bun B appears on “Mirrors” and Gucci Mane and Weensey add an unexpected flavor to “Pretty Girls.” He uses the brilliant Melanie Fiona, Chrisette Michele and Marsha Ambrosius on a few hooks. Lady Gaga lends a Pop-friendly hand to the lead single “Chillin’,” K’Naan sings and raps on Dave Sitek’s “TV In the Radio” and newcomer J. Cole goes bar for bar on “Beautiful Bliss.”
Guests are aplenty on the album. Bun B shares the mic over Mark Ronson’s smooth instrumentation on “Mirrors” and Gucci Mane and Weensey add an unexpected flavor to “Pretty Girls.” Nothing short of brilliant is the assistance of Melanie Fiona, Chrisette Michele and Marsha Ambrosius on a few hooks. Lady Gaga lends a Pop-friendly hand to the lead single “Chillin’,” K’Naan sings and raps on Dave Sitek’s “TV In the Radio” and newcomer J. Cole goes bar for bar on “Beautiful Bliss,” a cut co-produced by Mark Ronson and DJ Green Lantern.
Overall, Attention: Deficit shows that Wale isn’t all hype. In fact, it continues to demonstrate the talent that was heard on his various mix tapes. After this official debut album, Wale has the game’s attention, without the deficit. Perhaps people will now get his name right.
Nov 122009